Kathiawar

This article is about the peninsula in western India. For the region, see Saurashtra (region).

For other uses, see Saurashtra (disambiguation) and Kathiawari (disambiguation).

Kathiyawar Saurashtra
Peninsula
Kathiawar peninsula as seen from the NASA Earth Observatory
Location of Saurashtra in India
Coordinates: 22°N 71°E
Country	India
State	Gujarat
Languages
• official	Gujarati
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)

Kathiawar ([kɑʈʰijɑʋɑɽ]) is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about 61,000 km² (23,500 sq mi) bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat in the east. In the northeast, it is connected to the rest of Gujarat and borders on the low, fertile hinterland of Ahmedabad. It is crossed by two belts of hill country and is drained radially by nine rivers which have little natural flow aside from in monsoon months, thus dams have been built on some of these. Kathiawar ports have been flourishing centres of trade and commerce since at least the 16th century.

Etymology and history

The name Kathiawad seems to have been derived from the early settlements of Kathikas or Kathis who entered Gujarat from Sindh in early centuries of the Common Era.

History

Literary comment

Kathiawar 1855 with its four prant districts: Halar, Jhalavad, Sorath and Gohilwad.

Arrow Pillar or Baan-Stambh at Somnath

The state of the region in the early nineteenth century is shown in Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poetical illustration, "Scene in Kattiawar", to an engraving of a painting by Clarkson Frederick Stanfield.

Districts in Kathiawad Region

• Amreli
• Bhavnagar
• Botad
• Junagadh
• Gir Somnath
• Devbhumi Dwarka
• Jamnagar
• Rajkot
• Porbandar
• Morbi
• Surendranagar

Geography and ecosystem

Presents districts of old Kathiawar, Gujarat. (Note: Diu is not politically a part of Gujarat, currently it belongs to the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.)

Scene in Kattiawar, Travellers and Escort, 1830

The natural vegetation on most of the peninsula is xeric scrub. A range of low hills known as the Gir Hills occupies the south-central portion of the peninsula. The highest of these is Girnar. The hills are home to an enclave of tropical dry broadleaf forest.

Gir National Park and its surroundings host the last remaining Asiatic lion population. Other national parks in Kathiawar are Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar on the Gulf of Cambay, and Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch, near Jamnagar.

Antiquity (places: history, archaeology, nature, religion)

People of Mer Community (primarily found in Saurashtra) in one of the Sword dance forms

Bhil women of Kathiawar, 1890

Gop Temple in Kathiawad, 1897.

• Dwarika
• Somnath
• Sasan Gir and interiors / Kathi territories in Amreli-Bhavnagar districts
• Vallabhi
• Junagadh
• Shatrunjay Hills, Palitana
• Sihor
• Palitana
• Virpur (Rajkot) and Gondal
• Jamnagar & Marine National Park
• Velavadar
• Old cities of Gondal, Wadhvan, Morbi, Wankaner
• Diu, India

Notable characters and figures

Religion, pre-history, spirituality

• Sudama – Krishna's friend and a character from Mahabharata
• Baba Balak Nath – One of the legendary Naths and Chaurasi Siddhas
• Neminath – One of the Siddhas and 22nd Jain Tirthankar
• Narsinh Mehta (1414-1481) – Poet and saint
• Dayanand Saraswati – Hindu religious scholar, reformer, and founder of the Arya Samaj
• Jalaram Bapa – A mystic and saint
• Shrimad Rajchandra – A prominent Jain philosopher
• Morari Bapu – Preacher, teacher, thinker
• Ramesh Bhai Ojha (Hindi: रमेश भाई ओझा) – Hindu spiritual leader and preacher of Vedanta Philosophy
• Gangasati – Paanbai & Kahadsinhji Gohil mystic saints near samadhiyala
• Kanji Swami – Jain scholar & Saint of Songadh, Also known as "Koh-i-Noor of Kathiawar"

Society, ideology, politics, leadership

• Mahatma Gandhi – pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India, and Father of Nation
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah – lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan and Pakistani Father of the Nation
• U. N. Dhebar – Freedom fighter during the Indian independence movement and President of the Indian National Congress
• Virchand Gandhi – First Gujarati patriot from Mahuva to visit USA officially and participate in first World Religion Parliament, 1893
• Fatima Jinnah – Mother of Pakistani Nation
• Gangubai Kothewali – Social activist and prostitute

Governance, nobility, reforms, politics

• Nawab Sir Muhammad Mahabat Khan III – Babi of Junagadh state
• Maharaja Sir Takhtsinhji Gohil of Bhavnagar – Reformist and progressive ruler who constructed the Bhavnagar State Railway
• Maharaja Bhagvatsinhji of Gondal – A progressive and enlightened ruler, wrote Bhagavadgomandal
• Maharaja Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja of Jamnagar - India's first delegate at the League of Nations in 1920, then a UN represtative, Head of Korean War rehabilitation. Sheltered 500 Polish children in his state during WWII; The Good Maharaja
• Maharaja Krishnakumar Sinjhji Gohil – Reformist, progressive and noble Maharaja of Bhavnagar
• Balwantrai Mehta – Freedom fighter, social worker and pioneer of concept of Panchayati Raj
• Jivraj Mehta – Politician, first Chief Minister of Gujarat, aa Surgeon.

Art, literature, poetry, journalism, socialism

• Jhaverchand Meghani – Litterateur, social reformer and freedom fighter
• Kalaguru Ravishankar Raval – a painter, art teacher, art critic, journalist and essayist
• Dalpatram – Poet of Gujarati literature
• Nanalal Dalpatram Kavi – Author and poet
• Sursinhji Takthasinhji Gohil – Known for poetry and Gujarati literature
• Dula Bhaya Kag – Poet, social reformer and freedom fighter
• Amrut Ghayal – Shayar of Gujarati Ghazal
• Kavi Kant – Poet
• Harilal Upadhyay – Author in the Gujarati language
• Chunilal Madia – Author, playwright, poet, journalist, editor
• Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh – Painter, writer, art critic
• Rajendra Shukla – Poet
• Ramesh Parekh – Poet
• Ruswa Majhalumi- Imamuddin Murtaza Khan Babi, a Gujarati language poet and a royal of Pajod state.

Sports, adventure

• K. S. Ranjitsinhji – Maharaja of Nawanagar, cricketer
• Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji – Cricketer
• Vinoo Mankad – Cricketer
• Ashok Mankad – Cricketer
• Dilip Doshi – Cricketer
• Karsan Ghavri – Cricketer
• Ashok Patel – Cricketer
• Dhiraj Parsana – Cricketer
• Ajay Jadeja – Cricketer
• Parthiv Patel – Cricketer
• Ravindra Jadeja – Cricketer
• Siddharth Trivedi – Cricketer
• Cheteshwar Pujara – Cricketer
• Jaydev Unadkat – Cricketer
• Chetan Sakariya – Cricketer

Cinema, entertainment, music, folklore

• Mohammed Chhel – A magician and a Fakir (mystic)
• Vijay Bhatt – Producer, director and screenwriter
• Nanabhai Bhatt – Indian film director and producer; father of Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt
• Dina Pathak – Actor, director of Gujarati theatre, activist
• Asha Parekh – Actress, director, and producer
• Shahabuddin Rathod – Humorist, writer, teacher
• Parveen Babi – Bollywood actress
• Dimple Kapadia – Bollywood actress
• Manhar Udhas – One of the top Ghazalkars
• Pankaj Udhas – Indian singer, Ghazal singer
• Mehul Kumar – Director, producer
• K. Lal – Indian magician
• Alka Yagnik – Singer
• Ben Kingsley – Actor (ancestral roots in Saurashtra)
• Hemant Chauhan – Singer, Bhajanik
• Neeraj Vora – Film director, dialogue writer, actor
• Himesh Reshammiya – Music composer, singer, artist
• Dilip Joshi – Cinema and television actor
• Anjum Rajabali – Screenwriter, actor, producer
• Anand Gandhi – Film director, screenwriter and entrepreneur
• Chhel Vayeda – Art director and production designer
• Pan Nalin – Film director, screenwriter and documentary maker
• Sanjay Chhel – Film director, writer and lyricist

Business, industry, innovation, entrepreneurship, philanthropy

• Vishal Patel - hotelier, busiest man in America
• Nanji Kalidas Mehta – Industrialist and philanthropist
• Muljibhai Madhvani – Businessman, entrepreneur, industrialist and philanthropist
• Nautamlal Bhagavanji Mehta – Freedom fighter, businessman
• Dhirubhai Ambani – Indian business magnate and entrepreneur who founded Reliance Industries
• Abdul Gaffar Billoo – Pakistani pediatric endocrinologist and philanthropist
• Ahmed Dawood – Industrialist and philanthropist
• Sam Pitroda – Inventor, entrepreneur and policymaker
• Tulsi Tanti – Chairman and managing director of Suzlon Energy
• Abdul Sattar Edhi – Founded Edhi Foundation helping poor and needy

History and culture

• Prince Vijaya – Exiled prince of Sihor colonising Sri Lanka
• Ra Navghan – Historical character during Solanki period
• Devayat Bodar - Historical warrior and savior of Ra Navghan
• Kadu Makrani – Insurgent of the Indian rebellion of 1857
• Mohkam Singh – one of the punj pyare of Sikh religion, was born in Dwarka

See also

• Bhagavadgomandal
• Gir Cattle or Gir Gaay
• Kathiawari Horse Breed
• Maurya Empire
• Memons (Kathiawar)
• Ranji Trophy
• Railways in Kathiawar
• Saurashtra Kingdom
• Saurashtra language
• State Bank of Saurashtra

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Kathiawar". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.